Even rival coaches love this Kentucky recruit. ‘He’s everybody’s favorite player.’
In the middle of talking about Shaedon Sharpe’s future at Kentucky and the basketball teammates he would be surrounded with, Dwayne Washington had something else to add.
Washington, the grassroots coach and mentor to Sharpe — the nation’s No. 1 recruit — said his star player would fit well alongside fellow UK commitments Skyy Clark and Chris Livingston, two talented perimeter players that he knew and trusted. But the longtime Nike coach wanted to see one other guard wearing Kentucky blue next season, too.
“Hopefully we get Cason,” Washington said, unprompted. “He’s my favorite player. I love that guy. That dude is going to win NBA titles. He’s amazing. He’s a special player. He’s everybody’s favorite player. All the coaches’ favorite player. Because he just does everything. Whatever you need, he’ll do it. Defense, rebounding, he can drive.
“He’s that guy you plug into the ’85 Celtics that just does everything. He can play with Bird, McHale, and Parrish, but if they’re hurt he can go get 25.”
Cason, of course, is Cason Wallace, the 6-foot-4 combo guard from Texas that — at the time of this conversation — had not yet committed to Kentucky. He made the announcement for the Wildcats last weekend, signed with the program Wednesday, and he’ll be an integral part of next season’s team.
Normally, a commitment from a player like Wallace to a class already loaded with backcourt talent might be viewed as a threat. Five-star recruits want to get on the court right away, and they want to play major roles as freshmen. In many cases, adding a player like Wallace — even if his commitment to Kentucky had been assumed for weeks — could cause recruits already in the fold to question what his presence might mean for their playing time.
That hasn’t been the case here.
Ask around the Nike circuit and in Kentucky basketball circles, and it’s clear how people feel about Wallace. Coaches wish they could coach him. Players want to play with him. Everybody seems to love watching him on the court.
Jon Adams — the head coach and co-director of Team CP3, one of the Nike circuit’s top programs — ran into Wallace and his Pro Skills program in Houston in the spring.
“And he showed me why he was one of the top guards in the country,” Adams said. “Very deceptively athletic. Can really, really score the ball. Strong. And mean. If something’s going on on that court, he’s going to make sure he’s a part of it. He was really impressive.”
Pro Skills beat CP3 that day. Adams recalled that Wallace scored about 26 points. The two teams didn’t meet at the Nike Peach Jam tournament in July, but Adams caught some of Wallace’s games. And he watched him do the same things he had seen back in May.
“He’s going to be really good,” he said. “Kentucky’s going to love him.”
Team Final — another top Nike program, led this past summer by elite recruits Jalen Duren and Dereck Lively II — did play Wallace at the Peach Jam event. Major favorites going into the tournament, Team Final was dealt an early blow by Pro Skills on the very first day. Wallace didn’t shoot well in that game, but he grabbed eight rebounds, dished out three assists, managed four steals, and led his team to a 64-58 upset victory.
“He’s long. He’s rangy. He can score it at every level,” said Team Final director Rob Brown. “I thought he was really good, and I think he’s going to get even better with time and skill development. Kentucky got a good one there. He’s a fun player to watch.”
Wallace ultimately led Pro Skills to 12 consecutive victories to start Nike play — a remarkable run on the summer’s most competitive circuit — finally falling for the first and only time of the tournament in a rematch with eventual Peach Jam champions Team Final in the quarterfinals.
Over the two weeks of Nike play, Wallace was named the league’s most valuable player, earned his scholarship offer from Kentucky and has since been elevated to the No. 6 recruit in the 2022 class.
And he earned an immense amount of respect from his peers on the grassroots circuit.
‘Very special kid’
Kevin Lawson has coached Wallace at Richardson High School for the UK recruit’s entire prep career. He understands the way rival coaches feel about his star player. He said he felt a similar way about another recent Texas high school great, Tyrese Maxey.
Before he got to UK, Maxey was responsible for knocking Richardson out of the playoffs two years in a row. Still, Lawson couldn’t help but love the way he played, the manner in which he carried himself on and off the court.
“This is a guy that’s ending your season,” he said. “And you look at him and go, ‘He just seems like a good kid. I like that guy.’”
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who spent much time around Maxey to say a bad word about him. The former Wildcat impressed coaches, recruiting analysts, reporters, whoever, with his positive attitude and outgoing demeanor. That’s the way people feel about Wallace, says his coach.
Even at this early age, NBA scouts are digging into players’ backgrounds, looking for flaws or warning signs. Lawson gets calls like that. He said the college coaches who recruited Wallace used to ask, too. They stopped asking those questions as soon as they got to know him. But feelers linked to NBA teams still make the inquiries. Lawson can’t think of anything even remotely critical to tell them.
“It almost sounds like I don’t know any better,” he said with a laugh. “Like I’m stupid.”
Lawson has been coaching for more than 20 years. He knows what these scouts are looking for with these questions. He said he feels like they must be “rolling their eyes” at him, but he’s just being honest.
“Just get to know this kid,” he tells them. “And you’ll feel the same way.”
Lawson has been around for Wallace’s full high school arc to this point. He says he’s always been “calm, cool and collected” on the court. As a freshman — playing alongside seniors and juniors — he had the natural sense to carve out a large role without alienating his older teammates.
“He was very good at not rubbing people the wrong way but still being a leader,” Lawson said. “Now, his voice is — he’s the alpha dog. He’s able to really make sure we’re all in the right place.”
In the early going, the knock on Wallace was that he couldn’t shoot, that he wasn’t assertive enough with the ball in his hands. Lawson knew different. “It’s because he wasn’t putting up stats for Twitter Guy, for somebody who just wants to say, ‘He’s scoring 30 a game!’ The problem was, he was making sure we were winning. He’s doing things that coaches love. And coaches see how important he is.”
Ani Umana, a Texas high school basketball expert who has spent a lot of time around Wallace over the past few years, watching his progression on the court, says the UK recruit can score, but he doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make a major impact. And what he brings might not always show up in the box score. Deflections, going after loose balls, locking down the other team’s best scorer — these are all things that Wallace prides himself on doing.
“He can play whatever role is asked,” Umana said. “And he’s a great teammate, too. So guys are going to love playing with him.”
Rupp Arena crowds often reward the player who dives to the floor to fight for a loose ball with the same amount of cheers as the one who throws down a highlight-reel dunk.
“That’s Cason,” Umana said. “That’s what he does.”
Lawson is clearly going to miss Wallace after their final season together is finished. Some kids are great players. Some kids are great teammates. Some kids are just great. With this one, he feels he’s had all three.
“He is so unique in the person that he is and just the way he is around others, and the way that he’s been raised to be so respectful of adults,” he said. “The way he acts with my wife, my kids — when he leaves the room, he gives my wife a hug, he high-fives both of my kids. It’s so different from a normal high school kid, to be honest.
“He’s a very, very special basketball player. He’s a very, very special kid and person. He’s the full-package deal.”
